Outside the Gelex's headquarters. The company's shares tumbled more than 3 per cent on Wednesday, weighing on the market's bearish trend. — Photo courtesy of the company

HÀ NỘI — The market closed Wednesday in negative territory, with the VN-Index shedding nearly 30 points, primarily driven down by significant pressures from large-cap real estate stocks.

Despite efforts from the financial sector to maintain positive momentum, sharp declines in several key stocks led to a noticeable weakening in the market.

On the Hochiminh Stock Exchange (HoSE), the VN-Index dropped 28.19 points, or 1.61 per cent, to 1,718.98 points.

The southern market saw 121 stocks rise while 188 fell. Liquidity decreased significantly from nearly VNĐ30 trillion in the previous session to over VNĐ19.9 trillion (US$755.2 million).

In the VN30 basket, although 14 stocks advanced against 12 that declined, the dominant pressure came from real estate shares. The index dipped over 26 points, or 1.32 per cent, to 1,946.98 points.

Vingroup (VIC) hit the floor price, Vincom Retail (VRE) fell by 6.25 per cent and Vinhomes (VHM) dropped by 3.72 per cent, becoming the three largest contributors to the index’s decline.

Other large-cap stocks across various sectors also faced downward trends, including Sabeco (SAB), which tumbled 3.38 per cent; Vietjet Aviation (VJC), down 1.7 per cent; Petrolimex (PLX), down 1.14 per cent; FPT Corporation (FPT), down 1.43 per cent; Vinpearl (VPL), down 7 per cent; and Gelex Group (GEX), down 3.2 per cent.

On the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), the HNX-Index fell by 0.66 points, or 0.26 per cent, closing at 256.48 points.

Despite these challenges, the financial and banking sector provided a glimmer of hope, with several stocks posting gains.

HDBank (HDB) rose by 2.06 per cent, MMBank (MBB) increased by 1.82 per cent, LPBank (LPB) was up 0.45 per cent, SSI Securities (SSI) gained 1.74 per cent, Vietcombank (VCB) edged up 0.34 per cent and FPT Securities (FTS) surged 4.38 per cent, helping to mitigate some of the overall losses.

Foreign investors were active but net sold nearly VNĐ368 billion on the HoSE. Conversely, on the HNX, foreign investors made net purchases of VNĐ9.68 billion.

The significant downturn today highlights continued weak sentiment in the market, as leading stocks have yet to find a balance.

Although financial stocks showed positive signals, the overall market trend remains heavily influenced by the performance of the real estate sector and foreign capital flows.

In the short term, the VN-Index is likely to experience continued volatility unless a stable buying force emerges or sufficiently strong supportive information is introduced to boost investor sentiment. — BIZHUB/VNS